Ginseng Tea
by KeyKnows
Summary: Ozai, time ago Fire Lord, spends his days rotting in a cell and certainly he doesn't expect visits. But maybe he shouldn't be surprise at all when his brother goes to him with two cups of tea.


_Hi~_

_Okay you must know, english is not my native language and I translated this fanfic, originally in spanish, all by myself. This is the first time I do such a thing so there are obviously mistakes, but I hope the story to be understandable. _

_Sorry in advance if this give you cancer._

_Edited thanks to JackieStarSister's review _

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Ginseng Tea

He does not expect more visits besides the ones from his son (___Now Fire Lord, Agni!_), that he had made with the hope of discover what happened to his mother. For the time being, he has remain silent, immutable and with no answers.

So when the door opens he doesn't expect anything more than Zuko's figure, attire with the ostentatious clothing that belonged to him not so much time ago.

He didn't expect, however, the one who slipped into his cell to be his big brother. The general has in his hands a try with a teapot and two cups on it, from a set a little too elegant than one you would expect to be brought into a prison.

He doesn't say anything while his brother, as silent as himself, takes a sit facing him and leaves the tray in front of the bars between them. Carefully and calmly, Iroh pours the two cups and the ginseg tea's fragrance fills the cell.

One cup is let in front of him, at his reach if he wishes to take it, but he does not. He looks how Iroh closes his eyes and enjoys the scent of the ginseg tea.

He never understood what is so interesting about tea to his brother.

There is silence between them, and Ozai wonders if his brother has come to do something more helpful than to drink tea with someone who is not interested in that. But he waits, because his brother likes to give things time and is clear that he would not bother in coming here if there is no a good motive.

So he waits even if he, certainly, hasn't mastered the virtue of patience as Iroh has. And while he waits the smell of the tea in front of him is suddenly and surprisingly attractive.

If the one who brought the tea had been someone else, he would hestite a little more in taking the cup between his hands and taking a sip to the drink (___Delicious_), but being Iroh he doesn't worry about it. He is sure, his brother doesn't want him dead, and that being the case he would not poison him with tea.

That being the case he would not kill him in that cell.

So he drinks, and pretends he doesn't see the fleeting smile crossing his brother face when he does it, when he pleases him sharing a cup of tea.

The wait and the silence are not tense, not unpleasant neither. It's more like a respectful silence that doesn't end being enjoyable or unlikable, like the kind of silence that Ozai remembers having with court's members, it seems long and tedious but not necessarily to be interrupt.

He didn't think that he could live that kind of silence again.

Iroh finishes his cup of tea, and immediately he pours another. He looks impassive to the steam that comes out of the cup, and he loses his sight into the painted orange water.

"How much time ago was the last time we share a cup of tea?"

Iroh's voice is casual, jubilant even, as if they are drinking tea in the palace's gardens remembering betters times and not in the dirty cell where his little brother is held.

But the question brings up Ozai's interest, so he thinks carefully about the last time in which they drank tea together, because he is sure: if he was spending time with Iroh there _obviously_ was tea.

The truth is that he can't tell. Actually, now that he thinks about it, this is the first time in almost four years that they are together.

Iroh left alongside Zuko when he was banished, and he remembers he was aware of that because _he ____asked someone_ about his brother's whereabouts. He also remembers that he was not surprised not bothered about that, Iroh had showed his affinity for Zuko time before, and it was not a surprise of him to leave, or to not tell him about it even if Ozai was his Fire Lord.

So no, he has no idea when was the last time he drank tea with his brother. But Iroh doesn't expect an answer and Ozai was not thinking in giving him one, even if he knew.

The silence prevails and Ozai wonders if his brother thinks of doing something besides drinking tea, because invite him cup of tea doesn't seem a good reason to come here…somehow, he thinks, maybe it is a good reason to Iroh.

Anyhow he hopes that there is other motive. There has to be.

But the silence is there, not heavy, not awkward, not tense and not pleasant anyway. The silence is there, and even his light breathe seems to cut through it, it seems like the silence must remain how is it.

And it seems like, in fact, Iroh has come here just to share a cup of tea.

He finishes his cups and he is not surprise when Iroh pours it quickly, but he doesn't take the cup again, instead he observes his brother, waiting for him to say something. For a moment it seems like he will not talk.

But then Iroh leaves his half-finished cup on the cold stone floor and looks back at him. Their eyes, both pairs amber, look at each other and shine in the dark cell.

"The Avatar disappeared a little before the arrival of Sozin's Comet" Iroh starts to say.

And Ozai is truly surprise by that, he does not care about what the Avatar did or is doing, but he silences his objections; if whatever Iroh has to tell him must begin with the story of his life so be it, he will not pressure him: He has all the time of the world, anyway.

"His companions and Zuko came looking for me, hoping that I could be helpful finding him" he says, he tells and it sounds like the letters he sent them when Iroh besieged Ba Sin Se and he was Fire Lord. "I couldn't do anything about it, but the world was still spinning and his companions thought that, perhaps, I could _defeat you_."

There is silence once more. There is silence once more and this time, somehow, for some reason, Ozai feels the need to break it.

"Have you come to tell me that you didn't have the guts to kill me?" Because his brother has talked about defeat, but they know it is about assassination.

Silence again, silence that is not enjoyable or unlikable. Silence, and he now remembers, this silence was never uncommon between them and it may be the reason why it is not uncomfortable.

"I was not destined to defeat you" euphemism once again "that was a task that corresponded to the Avatar and the Avatar only".

Ozai sees his opportunity to talk, to question him and find out what is the cause if this wordiness.

"But yes" Iroh doesn't let him "Yes, I lacked the guts".

Iroh takes his cup over again, and now the tea is cold enough to the taste to be disagreeable. He warms the tea up with the heat that goes out from his hands.

Ozai prefers to stay still to his brother's words. Suddenly he doesn't know what to do with himself so he takes his cup of tea.

The tea is cold. He thinks about warming it up but he remembers that he can't, and it's almost stupid how that thought, how that realization, how that vain truth, chills his soul. Suddenly the cell is too cold.

He can't with the coldness in the cup, and like it burns him (oh, ironies of life) he attempts to leave it as quickly as he can where he found it.

But a pair of hands takes his through the bars, and involves them along with the cup in a warm and serene hold. He looks at Iroh, and he is about to tell him to go away, just about to undo the hold and throw him the tea in the face, but then…

Then he feels the heat, the heat that is calm and familiar and so, so longed, the heat that comes out of his brother's hands and that wraps his like it's his own. He feels how it goes through his hands and makes it to the cup.

He is watching with mute fascination the steam going out of the cup between his hands, and he doesn't dare to look at Iroh when he hears him talk:

"I lacked guts and I had so much heart".

Ozai's hands are not trembling when his brother let them go. And Iroh is not crying when he sees his brother smile.

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_There are little parts of the story that are not the same as in spanish, in essence the fanfic and the idea are the same, but there were some things I couldn't translate so I re-wrote them (and is my fic so I can do that)._

_I didn't have a beta because the only person who can help me is busy, but that is not a excuse so I will be happy if you let me know where and how I screwed up. I'm sure this will not be the last time I translate my fics, cause you know, the fandom in spanish is kinda dead (like fucking dead) and I need feedback._

_As for the story itself, I must tell that I love the result, the idea is very simple but I'm intrigued by the relationship between this two, I wish they had told us more in the show. _

_Anyway I hope you guys had enjoyed this, thank you for reading, every comment is appreciate. 3_


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